Sick Day
by PomKat
Summary: Alexandra Eames falls ill. What will Bobby do? Oneshot. BA friendship.


-1Disclaimer: 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' and all its characters belong to Dick Wolf. Not me. : (

A/N: Just a cute little one shot. Reviews loved.

---

_Sick Day_

Detective Alexandra Eames was invincible.

At least she was until the common cold struck.

Red nosed and coughing, Alex rolled onto her side and grabbed for her ringing cell phone. "What'd you want, Bobby?" she answered with a sneeze.

"Eames? You sound terrible. Allergies?"

"I think I have a cold." She pulled the phone away from her face as she went into a fit of coughing.

"Ah, then you should stay home and rest. I'll inform the captain."

"No! Don't. I'm fine. I can come into work."

She heard him snicker. "Don't want to put a smudge on your perfect attendance, huh, Eames?"

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." Even though she was sick, her sarcasm was sharp as ever.

"You just go back to bed. I just called to wonder why you were late." Alex glanced over at the alarm clock on her nightstand, hissed when she saw it was a half hour past the time she was supposed to clock in at Central. "There's just a little paperwork to finish up here, which is no big deal."

Alex sighed, closed her eyes. "Thanks, Bobby."

"You're welcome. Get some rest, Eames."

_Click._

Alex kept the phone to her ear for a moment more before she closed it and threw it back on her nightstand. Throwing the thick comforter over her head, she drifted back into sleep.

---

The sharp knocks on the front door had Alex slumping out of bed and into the living room. Without looking through the peep hole, she clicked the locks over and pulled open the door.

Bobby stood there, a bag of groceries in his large hands, his eyes wide and bright. He smiled at her. "Hi there, Eames."

Slightly embarrassed at the fact that she lingered in front of her partner with a pair of pale pink pajamas on and her hair in a tasseled mess, Alex stepped back and motioned him in. When she closed the door behind him, she asked, "What're you doing here?"

"I came to make you lunch," he replied with a toothy grin.

_Lunch? _Alex glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall. _Already half past two. Good God, how long have I been sleeping?_

Alex walked with him into the kitchen where he sat the large brown bag of groceries on the table. He reached into in and pulled out a small can of soup. "You like chicken noodle, right?"

Alex smiled, surprised that he had remembered her favorite soup and nodded. "Yeah, love it."

"Good." Bobby made his way to the stove, sat the can on the countertop beside it and asked, "Where do you keep the pots?"

"In the cabinet under the sink," she replied.

Alex took a seat on one of the table's chairs, pulled her legs up to her chest, and watched him work.

He chattered away while he made her lunch. Along with the soup, he had brought her a loaf of cinnamon bread from her favorite bakery, a small bottle of medicine to help aid her in curing her cold, and a few movies he said she could 'watch if she got bored'. Who knew he could be so very thoughtful.

Alex figured she knew everything she need to know about Robert Goren. Thought she could anticipate his every move, his every word. But just like that, he'd surprise her with something she'd never expect. Robert Goren was an odd man.

Bobby sat the steaming cup of soup in front of her, put a few slices of the cinnamon bread on a plate and laid it next to that. He then went back to the pot and poured himself a bowl of the liquid and settled himself into the chair across from her. After minutes of silence, Alex said, "You didn't have to do this, Bobby."

"I know." He shrugged. "But I felt bad that you were sick."

Alex chuckled, took a bite of the delicious soup. "Thanks, though. I appreciate it a lot."

Bobby grinned, much like a little puppy would if he was being praised for successfully bringing back a stick when it was thrown. He pursed his lips and stirred his soup as the awkward silence fell upon them again.

Alex blew out a breath of air, the quick action taking thin locks of her blonde hair spinning into a mad dance above her head. She chewed on her cheek for a moment before she said, "You know, if you want to stay over and watch those movies with me, you're more than welcome." She gave him a quick smile. "You'll just have to ignore all my sniffling and coughing."

Bobby snorted out a laugh, nodded. "I don't think it'll be that big of a deal," he said.

---

_How does he remember these things? _Alex asked herself as she sat curled up on her couch, wrapped up in a thick blanket, watching her favorite movie. Bobby sat at the other end of the sofa (which wasn't very far away considering how short the couch was), staring at the screen with those soft brown eyes.

Her favorite soup, her favorite bread from her favorite bakery, her favorite movie, and a cup of wonderful hot chocolate, all in the same night. _What other tricks does he have up his sleeve? _she wondered as she pulled the quilt tighter over her clammy body.

The movie was creeping its way to her favorite part when she felt herself start to drift.

---

Bobby threw his arms up in the arm in a stretching motion as the credits rolled over the television screen. He pulled himself up, stretched a bit more, and walked over to eject the DVD from the player. He was snapping it back into its case when he glanced over to check on Alex.

Her head was slumped over on her knees, which she had pulled up to her chest halfway through the movie, and her eyes were closed. All bundled up under the thick quilt, Detective Alexandra Eames reminded Bobby much of a sleeping child. With a silent laugh, he laid the DVD case down on top of the TV and walked to her.

Bobby slipped an arm under her knees, then another under her back. Her head lolled onto his broad chest as he lifted her petite body with ease and carried her back into her bedroom. There, he laid her on the bed, drew the large comforter from beneath her, and then pulled it up and over her thin body. Smiling, he patted her flushed cheek and wished her a goodnight.


End file.
